Prime
by Snake Doctor
Summary: An intercepted call for help takes Samus Aran to the unremarkable planet of Tallon IV, and sets off one of the most memorable jobs of her career. A novelization of the Nintendo game, Metroid Prime.
1. SOS

**Rewritten and updated 1/3/2014**

**As the summary said, this is a novelization of Metroid Prime. This story closely follows the plot established in the game as well as the gameplay, with one or two additional things added.**

**I'm attempting to give Samus a harder personality than she had in Other M. I liked Other M and thought she had an appropriate personality and responses to the story considering her background, but felt her shellshock was far too overdone and exposed. So in this story I'm giving her a harder, more cynical personality. I'm giving her an attitude similar to the thought processes of the combat veterans I've met and gotten to know. It's a new writing experience for me, so any who have comments or suggestions to offer please do not hold back. **

**Thank you, and enjoy.**

* * *

><p>"Samus Aran."<p>

_What…_

"Samus Aran."

_Five….ten more minutes…_

"Samus Aran."

This particular adventure started when my ship computer SAAR woke me with flashes of light from the onboard monitor screens. The lights were bright enough to be seen even through human eyelids. I shielded my eyes and allowed the automatic pilot's chair to raise my body into a sitting position. As I brought my arms over my head with a sleepy stretch, I gave the camera/radio ball just above my head a glare. "What is it, SAAR…"

SAAR was the artificial intelligence programmed into my gunship by the engineers and data pushers employed by the Federated Shipyards on Aliehs III. SAAR was the name they gave it, and the only name it will respond to. SAAR stands for nothing at all; someone thought it would be cute to pull letters from my first and surname and make a meaningless word out of them. But SAAR had his uses. He ran the mobile energy recharge system and microfactories that produced the shields and ammunition for my Power Suit, and maintained a state-of-the-art data library of any information I might find mission-relevant.

But, at the end of the day, he was a computer. And thus, SAAR could get very irritating very quickly.

"Are you well rested, Samus Aran?"

"SAAR, when did I say to wake me?"

"One moment, please."

The camera lens went from a soft red glow to black. I waited as SAAR ran a data check. Picked at a nick in the Zero Suit. Bit a hangnail off my pinky. Finally the camera lit back up.

"You instructed SAAR to wake Samus Aran in ten standard hours, barring enemy contact or other emergency."

"And how long as it been since then, SAAR?"

"Six point two standard hours, Samus Aran."

"SAAR, run a self-diagnostic on your chrono."

"One moment, please."

I tried to relax by staring through the viewport into the darkness of deep space and blew a strand of blond hair out of my face. I had just completed a rather harrowing rescue mission on Polta VII, and six hours of rest had only allowed soreness to work its way into my muscles. I was not paid anywhere near enough for that job. And it had taken me away from my primary goal of the past three years: tracking down the Space Pirate ships that had escaped the destruction on Zebes.

Zebes. Even now the name still got a rise out of me. Another home sacked and defiled by Space Pirates. A few years back, Space Pirates had attacked a Federation research vessel and stolen some exotic life forms known to the galaxy as metroids. The Space Pirates retreated to a base on the planet Zebes. The Federation tracked them there and hired me to infiltrate the base and retrieve or destroy the metroids.

Zebes was the planet I was raised on, adopted by an alien race known as the Chozo after a Space Pirate raid killed my mother and father. But when I returned there, the Chozo were gone, fled or killed. Enraged, I single-handedly defeated the Space Pirate enforcer Kraid before facing down and finally killing Ridley. I also destroyed Mother Brain, the corrupted Chozo supercomputer that controlled everything on Zebes. I thought then that I had wiped out the race that made me an orphan twice over. But logs taken after the battle revealed that three Pirate frigates had escaped. Since then, I've been trying to track them down, with little to no luck. Space Pirates were not fools, and judging from survivor accounts, I, the "Hunter", had left enough of an impression to send more than a few running scared.

Good.

"Diagnostic completed. No faults found."

I stared into the camera. "So why did you wake me four hours early?"

"False statement. SAAR woke you only three point eight hours early, Samus Aran. SAAR found conditions fitting into the given category 'emergency'. SAAR followed your orders to wake you."

"And what is this emergency?"

"SAAR intercepted a message sent through an open channel. An unidentified distress beacon has been tracked to a derelict space vessel in orbit above Tallon IV."

"Show me." I punched in a coded command and watched as the viewport turned into a viewscreen. Text ran across it as SAAR gave me the finer details of the call. Apparently someone's ship had come under attack recently.

"SAAR, tell me about Tallon IV."

"One moment, please."

Within a week under my ownership SAAR had established that phrase as the most irritating saying anyone could voice to me. I closed my eyes and waited. At the very least, it taught me the virtues of patience. Waiting on SAAR allowed me to contemplate on where I had heard that planet name before.

"Tallon IV, 5.1 billion teratons. Ecosystem studies reveal that Tallon IV was a biological paradise prior to the impact of an extraterrestrial object. What remains of the biosphere is slowly fading due to exposur to radiation. At current rate of decay, Tallon IV will be a barren Class XIII wasteland in twenty-five more local years."

"Jeez." That made me sad. No planet should have to suffer that. "Any sentient life?"

"None recorded."

"SAAR, has Tallon IV showed up on any of my prior mission logs?"

"SAAR reminds Samus Aran of the mission at hand. Job profile: search and rescue."

"Then set a course for the planet and give me my answer afterward."

The stars went from dots to white lines as the gunship accelerated to traveling speed. "Tallon IV has one single entry in your log, Samus Aran. A solar system scan pertaining to the planet Zebes."

That was unexpected. "Clarify."

"Tallon IV shares the same solar system with Zebes, Samus Aran."

I thought for a moment. A passing ship had made contact with unfriendly forces in former Space Pirate space. I already established there was a probability Space Pirates were still operating in the area. Maybe….

I shook my head. No, it was just a coincidence. Had to be. SAAR just said Tallon IV was on its way to becoming a radioactive dustball. There was no way anything there would be of interest to the Space Pirates. I mentally slapped myself. Personal genocidal vendettas did not take precedence to calls for help. I eased back and sent a mental command to the Zero Suit, allowing it to melt into my much-more durable Varia Suit. "Full speed, SAAR."


	2. Boarding Party

The ship filled my viewport as I took the gunship through a second flyby. It was obviously a space frigate, though it did not appear to be a warship. There were no visible gun turrets or missile batteries. And the gunship's sensors did not pick up and tracking systems. But oddly enough, there were no signs of an attack. No debris, no bodies…a ship this size did not get jumped without the attackers leaving something behind.

"SAAR, do we have any record of this ship?"

"None listed, Samus Aran."

"Are we picking anything up from the ship at all?"

"Signs of life have been detected throughout the interior of the ship, Samus Aran."

I breathed. There were survivors, then. They would have answers. "Find me a docking bay and set us down."

"One moment, please."

The autopilot kicked in as SAAR piloted the ship towards the frigate. After a few minutes, SAAR found a suitable place to land. The ship shuddered as it entered an artificial gravity field, and then came to a hovering stop at the edge of a gangplank.

"Docking completed."

"Run a diagnostic on the Varia Suit."

"One moment, please."

From what I could see, the gangplank moved about ten feet up the dock to a force field gate. Standard security for pretty much every ship made these days. The gate was a security checkpoint that was typically manned by two or three guards. This one was deserted, though. The guards probably left to deal with whatever had assaulted the ship. The force field was still up, though. But that was not a problem. The override switches could be activated from my position.

"Systems diagnostic commencing. Missile Launcher, online. Charge Beam, online. Morph Ball, online. Morph Ball Bomb, online. Grapple Beam, online. Heads-Up Display, online. User Interface, online. Diagnostic complete. No error has been found."

"Then let's go."

The exterior hatch opened. I vaulted through it and landed on the gangplank outside with a heavy thud. Obviously, the artificial gravity was meant for a more durable species. But it was nothing the Varia Suit could not handle. I rose up and surveyed the area.

"SAAR, communication test."

"Testing."

"Received."

One of SAAR's best features was wireless communication powerful enough to be picked up from thousands of miles away. The engineers told me it was foolproof, but I always checked it before leaving on a mission. Better safe than sorry. SAAR could update me with any information I needed. In my opinion, that more than made up for his quirks.

"SAAR, tell me about this gate."

"There are four override switches hidden inside the field generators."

"Onscreen."

The generators appeared through my visor display as SAAR showed them to me. "You will not be able to manually activate them. However, pinpoint shots from your weapon should be more than adequate."

"Scan for other gates and have the switch locations ready for me." I lined up my beam cannon on the first switch and fired. Sparks flew as the beam penetrated and destroyed the switch. Three shots later, the force field sputtered and disappeared. I smiled and moved forward. There were more gates like the first just ahead, and they were dealt with accordingly. After a while, we came to an airlock door.

"There is an energy field covering this door," SAAR told me. "It requires beam shots to open."

I nodded. More standard technology. The airlock opened with a hiss, then a roar as air vented into deep space. I stepped inside.

"You have entered an emergency evacuation area," SAAR said. "Caution: the environment is unstable."

I frowned. "Advice?"

"Maintain Varia Suit lockdown."

I rolled my eyes. The Varia Suit was always locked down. "Thank you, SAAR."

"You're welcome."

I activated a nearby console and ordered the airlock to pressurize. Once atmosphere had been restored, the far door opened. Another corridor led me to another beam door. That one proved stubborn; the mechanisms were faulty and made activation slow. But when it did open…

"SAAR, what I am looking at?"

"Improper query. Scan and upload information."

I'd stepped into a room full of the honeycomb holes one normally found on ships with escape pods. All the pods had been jettisoned, but what had made me pause was the massive creature lying in the middle of the room. It was obviously dead, which I felt was the only redeeming quality of the thing. The massive set of mandibles on its head and the razor-sharp tips of its legs told me this thing was a predator. And a big one. I obliged SAAR and had my Varia Suit scan and send a picture to him.

"Morphology: Unkown. High levels of radiation detected. Proceed with caution."

"No touching." I gave it a once over as I slipped past it. "Roger. No problem."

"SAAR advises Samus Aran to give SAAR live feed from the Varia Suit camera."

"Sure thing." I tapped my wrist and activated the key input hidden there. I typed in the command code. "Done. Reading?"

"Yes, Samus Aran."

"Let me know if you pick up anything."

"Yes, Samus Aran. SAAR advises Samus Aran to inspect the unknown life form for analysis."

I impatiently stared at the dead creepy thing, letting SAAR collect his data. "Samus Aran. Analysis shows incredibly large muscle structures surrounding the jaw area. Fluid sacs containing acid have also been detected."

"Lovely." Yes. Very happy it was dead. The Varia Suit did not handle acid well, and this thing was big enough to swallow me alive.

A scuttling noise caught my attention. The HUD registered movement along the wall to my right. I swiveled and raised my arm cannon, but put it down when I caught sight of the source. It was a much, much smaller creature, similar in appearance to the larger one behind me. "SAAR, scan."

"Morphology: Parasite. Interstellar vermin. Travel in swarms. Indigenous to Tallon IV, a single parasite is harmless to larger life forms."

I cocked my head and watched the parasite. It was kind of cute.

"However, they tend to travel in large groups, swarming over potential prey. Such swarms can be dangerous."

Ah, there's the rub. Nature was never cute. I fired a shot to the parasite's left and sent it scurrying away. "SAAR, were these the life signs you detected?"

"Yes. But there are larger forms deeper in the ship. Different."

"Direct me."

"There is one other door leading out of this room. Take it."

I found the door easy enough. But next to it was a panel of computer screens. I could see the word "pod" flashing faintly across the screens as I went to inspect it. The computer was damaged, probably from whatever that thing was, but I found a keyboard and beginning scrolling through the info. I begin trying to find where the escape pods launched to. Escape pods were not meant for interstellar travel, so the only place they could have gone would be to the planet surface nearby. If I found them, I found the survivors.

Bingo.

Wait.

"SAAR, run data check for 'Tallon IV Research Facility'"

"No file found."

Bad Samus. SAAR didn't have it because that was a name the ship owners had given a privately owned structure. But then again, why research facility? Why not "base" or something?

"SAAR, are you picking up transmissions from the planet?"

"No, Samus Aran."

"From the ship?"

"No, Samus Aran."

Giant, never-before-seen bugs and an unknown "research facility" on an uninhabited and dying planet. That didn't sound legitimate at all. "Scan the ship and run it through your library for any similar ships on record. We're not proceeding another foot until I know what this kind of ship is used for."

"One moment, please."

While I was waiting I went to inspect the bug. It was at least twenty feet long from head to tail. The front legs were longer than I was tall. Burns covered most of the main body, mainly the chest cavity. They looked like they had come from blaster fire. I walked around the room to the other side of the monster and noticed the pile of rubble it was laying on. A cursory inspection revealed a hole about ten feet up the wall behind it. The edges looked fused and melted.

So. Whatever this thing was, it had broken through the wall to get through to this room. Since it was so obviously a predator, it may have come in after the escaping crew, where it was terminated. The crew then made their escape to a home base planet side and left the ship here. A ship this size was not just left, though. Whoever owned it would be coming back for it.

"Information retrieved. Ship is a modified research frigate, containing onboard laboratories and facilities designed for scientific pursuits. They are widely used by government-funded schools and other establishments as places of learning, but are readily available on the civilian market."

Someone was working on something here. Worse case scenario, an experiment went wrong and the crew was forced to evacuate. Most likely scenario, something caught fire and someone panicked.

Negative. I gave the bug another look before leaving the room. I was probably dealing with a worse-case scenario here. "Proceed as planned, SAAR. Let's search for survivors. We'll head down to Tallon IV if we find none up here."

"Yes, Samus Aran."

SAAR led me deeper into the ship, past sparking machinery and rubble-filled hallways. Occasionally I could hear sounds through the wall, ceiling, or floor. More parasites moving through the ship, judging from the HUD readings. They were not the creatures I was worried about. I was more interested in figuring out what the dead thing in the other room was. Where it had come from? And why it was here, so far from any wilderness whatsoever? And more importantly, were there any more on board? Because anything that could melt its way through a denzium wall was something I preferred to avoid. I did not get this far in the galaxy by running headfirst into danger.

"Life signs ahead."

I stopped. "Say again?"

"Life signs ahead, Samus Aran. In the next room."

I fired a burst into the beam door and stepped inside. And stopped.

"Wow…"

Right in front of me was a tube, stretching from floor almost all the way to the ceiling. The floor was a good twelve feet below me. I was an upper level overlooking a large laboratory. A destroyed laboratory. Broken glass covered the lower level. I looked around and noticed a second tube, similar to the first, only broken. All the glass was scattered around the tube. That told me it had been broken from the inside.

And from seeing the second giant bug-thing inside the first tube, I got a pretty good idea about what had broken out. Hanging suspended inside its prison, the monster drifted in some sort of fluid, with what looked like a hose coming from its mouth and leading up into the ceiling. Probably an air supply. I walked forward to get a closer look. The bug suddenly turned its head and looked at me. The thing was alive.

"Life signs found."

Now he tells me. "SAAR, is this the same kind of creature we found earlier?"

"Yes. It also shares appearances and anatomy with the parasites located inside the ship."

"Is this part of the normal parasite life cycle?"

"No."

The creature turned away. "Subject is being held in artificial hibernation," SAAR said. "Low life signs detected."

"SAAR, designate this animal as 'hyper-parasite' and scan for others like it."

"Entry added to logbook. Beginning scan. One moment, please."

The level I was on extended to the far side of the room. I walked along it, looking over the room. At the base of the tube, monitors gave what looked like readings of some sort, though from my vantage point I could not make any of the words out. I did, however, find a holograph of the hyper-parasite displayed on a nearby wall and went to inspect it.

It did not just go over the finer details of the hyper-parasite. It showed me what appeared to be the entire parasite life cycle. The parasites gave live birth, hatching from eggs and developing as embryos inside the mother's body. They grew larger as they fed, growing up to three feet long before becoming mature enough to mate. It was surprisingly interesting. I scrolled through the data, wanting to learn more.

_The fluid sacs around the mouth enlarge after mutation…_

Wait, what?

_...This allows for increased production of corrosive bile._

"Scan completed. No 'hyper-parasite' found."

"SAAR, analyze this data."

"The file details parasite mutations, Samus Aran. These mutations occur when the parasite is exposed to an unspecified compound."

_After mutation, the carapace of the larva becomes more rigid. The primary legs of this creature possess galvanized tips, allowing it to penetrate any known alloy._

"Did you say mutation, SAAR?"

"Yes, Samus Aran."

"Artificial mutation?"

"Yes, Samus Aran."

_Combat mutation applications are complete._

This was sickening. I whirled around and went back to the hyper-parasite. "SAAR, did you pick up radiation from this creature? Like you did the last one?"

"Yes, Samus Aran."

I went through the room, searching for more holographs or consoles. I found one, barely working, also mounted on the wall. I went to it and begin browsing.

_Specimen, Cell A. Transference of Phazon batch 0081.0 complete. Readings normal._

"SAAR, run a search for 'Phazon'."

"No data found."

"SAAR, run a scan for any radiation levels matching those of the creatures we've found."

"One, moment, please….scan completed. Radiation detected in the lower levels of the ship, near the reactor core."

"Show me the quickest route to that location."

My visor lit up with the image of a map. There was a blue trail leading through the multiple hallways of the ship, but the room I wanted was highlighted and had a nice, big arrow hanging over it. I closed the map and moved further on. Now I was more determined than ever to find a survivor. I wanted to know exactly who was conducting these experiments and why.

All life was sacred. Life was not meant to be tampered with by anybody. I stepped into another room just in time to here, "Enemy contact."

I dove backwards as three balls of energy slammed into the spot I'd just been standing. I swung my cannon around the corner and began launching suppressive fire. "SAAR!"

"Enemy is an automated turret designed to fire on movement."

I yanked my cannon back as the turret returned fire. Those blasts weren't too strong. The Varia Suit would be able to deal with them just fine. I did a quick three-count and stepped back into the room, activating my missile launcher as I did so. The turret fired directly into my chest, but the shots splashed harmlessly on the suit's shielding. A small beep sounded as I got a missile lock. I fired, and the turret disappeared in the explosion.

"Enemy destroyed."

Automated turrets were not standard technology. Only military groups had those. "SAAR, is this a Federation ship?"

"Unknown. Not likely."

If this room was protected by illegal technology, then that meant there was something in here worth hiding and protecting. I looked around. There were more computers here, lined around yet another experiment tube. But this one…

It looked like the other hyper-parasites I had seen. The jaws hang open as it limply flopped around in its containment, propelled by an unseen current. I could see an exposed ribcage with great strands of flesh hanging off of it. What looked to be its internal organs followed behind the body. The entire creature was glowing with a faint blue color. What little skin remained intact was covered with lesions and blisters.

"This is horrible…"

"This specimen has been horribly mutated. There are no life readings."

I went to the monitors. Unlike the others, these were functioning perfectly. Yes, whoever ran this ship wanted to make sure this room stayed untouched, or at the very least salvageable. I picked one at random and switched it on. When it was done booting up I seleceted a promising looking file and clicked it.

"Access denied. For authorized personnel only."

"SAAR, hack this file."

"Begin decrypting sequence."

From my index finger extended a male USB port. I slipped into the computer and let SAAR do his thing.

"Space Pirate data decoded."

"What - !"

_Zebes has fallen. All ground personnel are presumed dead, killed by the Hunter clad in metal or in the subsequent destruction of the underground facilities…_

It couldn't be possible. And yet, there it was. This was a Space Pirate ship. "SAAR, make a record of this."

"New entry added to logbook."

_Our research frigates Orpheon, Siriacus and Vol Paragom were in orbit at zero hour and managed to retreat. Frigate Orpheon is now docked at Vortex Outpost. Orpheon's cargo appears to have a 100% survival rate; metroids are healthy but on restricted feeding schedules due to uncertain supply status. We are ready to begin research on the metroids and other promising life forms. Security status remains at Code Blue; no signs of pursuit from the Hunter._

So not only had three Space Pirate ships escaped Zebes, but this one escaped filled to the brim with metroids. I had yet to find any metroids or Space Pirates, though. More than likely, after sending the distress beacon the Space Pirates had packed up and left for this so-called Tallon IV Research Facility. Which meant I was now orbiting another planet full of Space Pirates that were probably still mad about Zebes.

This was bad. I pulled up more data and found what looked like a file of a recording. With a simple key command, a voice sounded from the monitor.

"_Phazon Infusion, Stage One. Parasite larva diagnostic: Mass, 1.2 meters. Length, 0.5 meters. Cell structure stable."_

Details of an experiment? Maybe this would reveal what happened here. "SAAR, make a record of this."

"Yes, Samus Aran."

"_Phazon Infusion, Stage Two. Introducing mutagen into tank, Phazon Batch 0732.C. Phazon Infusion, Stage Three. Mutation initiated."_

The voice was drowned out by a loud screech. Probably from the creature. I winced. It sounded like it was in pain.

"_Phazon Infusion, Stage Four. One standard hour has passed. Larva diagnostic: Mass, 14.5 meters. Length: 40.3 meters. Infusion analysis: Specimen exhibits…incredible strength and body mass increase when exposed to, I say again, Phazon Batch 0732.C. Bioform pain tolerance levels at 13% and holding."_

I heard another shriek._ "Phazon Batch 0003.H has increased the acid production in the saliva ducts of other parasite larva, so we will use it begin the next infusion sequence - "_

The scream graduated to a furious roar. "_Cell structure failing! We're losing the specimen!"_

"Jesus…"

"_Specimen cell structure is failing. Batch 0732.C is not compatible with specimen's DNA. Terminating infusion sequence."_

The roars grew louder and louder. Now I could hear loud bangs and thumps, as well as frantic yelling. It went on like this for several tense moments. Until…

"_Termination complete. We've lost the specimen." _

I looked up at the dead parasite. "_Biohazard waste removal may begin in three hours. Phazon radiation readings must be reported to deck commander before batch disposal."_

I pressed one hand against the glass. It was cold to the touch. I could feel it through my suit.

"I'm sorry this happened to you."

"Samus Aran, you must move on."

There was an elevator that went up to the second level. I took it and, with one final look at the parasite, exited.


	3. Humanely Destroyed

The next door slid open with a hiss. I stepped through and glanced around. I could see another panel, but this looked to be a lift control mechanism, not a computer. Further inspection revealed the lift.

"SAAR, where does this go?"

"The life will take you down to the reactor core, Samus Aran. There is a recharge station nearby. Your suit shields are operating at 88% capacity. Suggestion: recharge suit. Large life signs detected in the reactor core."

SAAR had a point. This was a Space Pirate ship. I had no idea who their distress call was meant for, but dollars to donuts it was not me. "The Hunter" would be the last person a group of Space Pirates already terrified for their lives would want to see. And honestly, they had a good reason for that.. I had stopped planning to rescue anybody after seeing the dead hyper-parasite floating around in its tube. I activated the lift controls and stepped inside. There was a low beep, the door slid shut, and I began going down the shaft. There were two doors on this lift, the one I stepped through and another one in front of me. When it opened, I emerged with my weapon leveled.

"Erm…SAAR?"

"No life signs in this room, Samus Aran."

"No kidding." The room was full of mutilated bodies that vaguely resembled Space Pirates. "Analysis."

"One moment, please."

I walked forward and gave a body a kick. The body rolled over, revealing the mandible jaws of the dead Space Pirate. Judging from the size of the torso, the Pirate in question was male, but he was missing everything from the chest down. Jagged pieces of exoskeleton extended over an empty husk. I nudged him again with my foot, noticing how light the corpse felt. The Pirate's organs were missing.

"Analysis complete. Fourteen deceased lifeforms. Two died in this room, the others were deposited from elsewhere. Subjects are showing abnormal levels of mass and appear to have been drained of all bodily fluids. These are signs of behavior consistent among predators gathering sources of nourishment. Caution is advised."

Translation: They were all killed and eaten. Super-predators and monsters were nothing new to me, but I still wanted to avoid meeting up with whatever creature those bodies belonged to. It was not bothering me yet, so I was not going to mess with it. At this point, fighting the thing was an unnecessary risk. More than likely, though, this was a food cache belonging to the dead hyper-parasite I saw earlier.

Then again, SAAR was still picking up some serious movement down here. That fact did not sit well with me. "Where is that recharge station again?"

"To your left, Samus Aran."

The recharge station was a standard-issue pod meant to be sat in. A device was lowered over the occupant and connected to their suit, using a universal male port that was compatible for virtually every space and combat suit produced in the galaxy. You could find these stations pretty much anywhere legally, and they were pretty cheap.

I relaxed and watched my user interface as the suit shields slowly recharged. Ninety percent….ninety-two percent…when it finally reached full charge the device retracted and I was able to step out.

For some reason, there was a large blast door between me and the reactor core. Also, it was dented. I did a quick material scan, one of the few things my suit could do without relying on SAAR.

Denzium. I frowned. Pretty fancy door for a reactor core. Maybe it was for emergency situations. It was also dented.

"SAAR, give me a list of things that can damage a denzium door."

"Samus Aran, the following things can damage a denzium door: A Power Bomb, a rapid and/or heavy kinetic impact, chemicals possessing higher-than-normal acidity."

"Heavy kinetic impact?"

"Translation: Something very, very big hitting the door very, very hard."

The dents were large. Very large.

_Fuck me._

I took a breath, and released it, letting go of sometension and trying to relax. It was almost comical. Samus Aran, former Galactic Federation infantry and now a famous bounty hunter and Chozo-trained warrior, was getting jittery over a giant bug that may already be dead. Only the ignorant would get a laugh out of that, though. The veterans, those that have experienced combat and survived, they'd understand. Fear never truly goes away.

My fear was a tool. It was my body warning me of danger. Fear kept me cautious, kept me from rushing jobs and situations, and that kept me alive more than any weapon or armored suit I'd ever have. That's what my drill instructors in the GF told me. That's what the Chozo told me. And that's what I told people.

Still, it was a little embarrassing. I readied my arm cannon. "SAAR, pull up a door hacking program."

"Unnecessary. The automatic opening mechanism to this door was damaged, but the manual controls are still usable. A large spherical object inserted into the gear at your feet will open this door."

I looked down. Kicked aside another Space Pirate body. And there it was. A small pit set into a very-old-looking gear that had cables attached to it. They were leading towards the door. Now, I just needed something to open it with –

Wait.

I smiled and looked into my left hand. In the center of my palm was a small, green-lit button. I stared at the button a moment, then made a fist to hit it and ducked my head. My armor began moving on its own, forcing my torso to bend forward and my knees to rise up towards my face. My chin went between my legs and stopped just below my knees as additional armor plates rose into existences around me. A hidden panel flipped open in front of me and present a small screen linked to exterior armor cameras and a simple, two-joystick control system. The entire process took less than a second.

"Morph Ball sequence completed."

The Morph Ball feature on my Power Suit was one of my favorites, added by some Chozo technology I found during my mission on Zebes. The ball was a little over a meter wide, but allowed me to access tunnels, ventilation shafts, and to escape or reposition when I became surrounded by enemies. It also had a weapon system that dropped time-activated mines I liked to call Morph Ball Bombs, and a magazine containing seven Power Bombs, the most powerful weapons I had.

Movement worked through manipulation of pressure pads located throughout the interior of the Morph Ball module. I pushed with my hands to move forward and my feet to move back. To move to the side, there were additional pads above my shoulders I could lean into. Weapons systems were activated by pushing my knees into the final two pads; right knee for Morph Ball Bombs and the left knee for Power Bombs. The Morph Ball was the most convenient module on my suit and I secretly enjoyed it. A visually detailed HUD inside my visor let me see my surroundings with perfect seven-hundred-twenty-degree vision.

I maneuvered myself into the appropriate position and smiled as the door unlocked. I rolled through the door and went back into my Varia Suit.

Wow. Even more bodies.

"Life signs found. Movement above this room."

I looked up. Nothing. "SAAR, run life diagnostic again."

"One moment, please."

I was on a ledge overlooking a large, transparent cylinder. Inside the cylinder was a device unfamiliar to me but I could only assume it was the ship's main reactor. My suit immediately pulled up a radiation reading, but a short survey told me there was nothing lethal enough to penetrate the Varia Suit. I gingerly jumped down the ledge and moved towards the reactor.

Above and below me, the cylinder curved upwards into multiple vents and shafts. It was in this way that the reactor was able to provide power to the ship. My mechanical knowledge was limited, barely extending past expertise with my own ship, but it was still impressive. I rarely got to see this kind of technology up close. Maybe once I was done surveying the ship I could –

Impact.

Pain.

Weightlessness.

Another impact.

More pain.

I rolled to my feet and raised my arm cannon, charging up a Charge Beam as I did so. I saw movement, aimed, and fired.

A screech filled the suits audio receptors enough to make me wince. I activated my Morph Ball and rolled to my right, barely avoiding some kind of green projectile that proceded to melt the spot I was previously standing in. I deactivated my Morph Ball and fired a three-round burst into the first piece of flesh I saw. The creature screeched again and moved back, letting me get a full look at it.

"Diagnostic complete. Life signs detected."

I readied my weapon again. "No shit."

It was a third hyper-parasite. Bigger than the other ones I had already seen. Obviously, this one had gorged itself on the crew members that were unfortunate enough to not get an escape pod. It had made the reactor core its den, probably for the warmth, and I had wandered right into its claws.

"SAAR, scan."

"One moment, please."

I launched another Charge Beam at the parasite. It rolled into a ball to protect itself. I watched the beam bounce right off its hide and into the far wall. "Now, SAAR!"

"One moment, please."

The parasite charge me. This thing was way faster than its size should have allowed for. One quick snap of its jaws and suddenly I was halfway down its throat. I immediately stretched my arms out and stopped it from swallowing, screaming as my arms were nearly pulled from their sockets. Two sets of mandibles crunched down on my waist. It hurt. A lot. But the Varia Suit held.

Would have been nice to just sit there and let it choke itself to death, but even if the suit prevented me from being bitten in half, it wouldn't stop my hips from snapping. I went into my Morph Ball again and dropped a Power Bomb –

NO! I hit the wrong button and instead dropped a Morph Ball Bomb. It went off, and launched me out of the creature's throat and past the mandible. The parasite screeched again, louder this time, and retreated back a few meters. I immediately raised my cannon again and aimed for its head. But the parasite saw the motion and immediately tucked its head in.

_Great. Big, mean, hungry, and smart._

"Scan completed. Subject is a female pregnant hyper-parasite. Weak spots detected in the mouth and belly. Adjusting targeting systems to lock onto these spots."

My HUD screen swapped to a shade of green and displayed the weak spots in red circles. I held my fire. "You said pregnant."

"Parasite shows biology similar to a typical Tallon IV parasite queen. Subject has three eggs inside her womb."

"Reclassify target as Parasite Queen."

"Done."

"Escape options."

"Parasite Queen is currently blocking your previous entry. This is the only door in and out."

I groaned. Queen charged me again, I leaped to the side and fired a Missile into her abdomen. She shrieked and backed away. Blood gushed from the wound. I landed and fired another burst of rounds into the wound. She retreated around the reactor and stayed there, alternating between glaring at me and inspecting her belly.

She wasn't going to bother me anymore. And frankly, even if she was a mutated freak of nature, I was trying to avoid killing her. I powered down my cannon and targeting system and went towards the door. "SAAR, run a complete ship scan for any more life forms sharing 30% or more similarity with Parasite Queen. Show any subjects found on my HUD and map as red dots."

"One moment, please."

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM-

I went Morph Ball. Too late. The Parasite Queen had me in her jaws and tossed me into the air, like a bird getting ready to gulp down a fish. I looked down, saw the open mouth, and sighed to myself.

_Sorry, Queen._

She closed her jaws around me and I released my Power Bomb.

The explosion shook the whole room. I bounced away from it and watched as the now-headless Parasite Queen was flung towards the reactor core. She hit with a heavy thud and slid down the cylinder, leaving a trail of blue blood along it.

The newly cracked and glowing cylinder. My suit began showing a severe radiation spike as I exited Morph Ball. I stared as the cylinder shattered around the reactor core.

_Ah, hell._

I did a 360 turn and bolted for the door. One quick jump got me onto the ledge and out of the room as alarms blared around my head.

"SAAR, EXIT PLAN!"

"You can leave through the route you took, Samus Aran."

"Show source of radiation."

"The reactor core has been damaged by a heavy kinetic impact. It is now extremely unstable and will detonate within seven minutes"

The lift was right where I left it. I ran into it and literally punched the arrow pointing up. The door close and the lift rose. Way, way to slow for my liking.

"SAAR, estimated run time from my location to ship."

"Eight minutes, thirteen seconds."

The lift stopped, the door open, and down the hall I went.


End file.
